


The Start of Something

by seraphina_snape



Category: Numb3rs (TV)
Genre: Dancing, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Kissing, M/M, Some pining, Undercover, Undercover as a Couple
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-20
Updated: 2019-01-20
Packaged: 2019-10-11 20:10:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17453477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seraphina_snape/pseuds/seraphina_snape
Summary: Don and Colby fit the profile of a killer who's been attacking gay men. They've been hitting the clubs for a couple of weeks now and it's stretching Don's endurance levels to the max being so close to Colby and yet not being able to touch.





	The Start of Something

**Author's Note:**

  * For [jenab](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jenab/gifts).



> Written for jenab's stocking @ fandom_stocking.

The club was thrumming. 

Don pressed a little closer to Colby and threw his head back. Colby's lips found his cheek and then his neck, sucking gently until Don was a hair's breadth away from closing his eyes and giving in to temptation. 

But they had a job to do, even if it killed them. And this, Don was sure, would lead him to an early grave - or at least death of mortification when Colby found out he was a little more into it than he should be.

Don wasn't sure what kind of picture they painted, but the appreciative looks from the other club-goers were a good indication that the outfits they'd picked and the show they were putting on were working. 

"Don," Colby breathed into his ear. He loosened his embrace and slid his hands from around Don's middle to grasp his hips, subtly nudging Don to turn to the right. Don put his hand over Colby's and squeezed in acknowledgement - their target was on the balcony looking down at them. 

Showtime.

Don turned to face Colby, sliding one of his legs between Colby's thighs. Their eyes briefly met and Don felt incredibly turned on and incredibly awkward as he slid a hand down to Colby's ass, pulling him in tight. 

They gyrated to the pulsing beat of the song, flushed and a little sweaty. Colby dipped his head down to nose at Don's neck, finding the spot he'd kissed earlier to give it some more attention. "Target coming down the stairs," he whispered in between kisses. 

Don nodded minutely, counting on Colby to feel the slight motion through their close contact. He reached up with one hand and buried his fingers in Colby's hair, pulling a little too hard to be gentle. Colby's lips were spit-stained and deep red and Don leaned in without hesitation, taking Colby's mouth in a bruising kiss. 

They were both breathing hard by the time they separated. Colby's eyes flickered to Don's left for a split second before he focused on Don again. Don blinked once, deliberately, to acknowledge the info and said, loud enough to be heard over the music, "Let's get out of here, babe." 

He trailed his hand down Colby's arm and took his wrist – a possessive gesture that made Don's stomach flip with the need for it to be real. He towed Colby across the dance floor towards the exit. He glanced back at Colby, smirking a little to play up his cover. 

Behind Colby, the target was following them. Don's smirk turned into an outright grin. 

They had him. Or as good as. 

They had another teams as backup, posted behind the club, while Don's team was outside the front doors in the small parking lot across the street where Don had parked their cover car earlier. 

For nearly five months L.A.'s LGBT community had lived in fear, after a total of twelve male same-sex couples had been attacked. Eight people were dead. Charlie and his math had helped them build a map of past and possible future places of attacks and for the last two weeks, he and Colby had been hitting Charlie's estimated attack locations trying to find someone who stood out. 

It had been Don's bad luck that he and Colby best fit the victim profile - mid thirties to forties, white, athletic. 

The assignment was pure torture. Grinding up against Colby every night for two weeks hadn't exactly been a hardship - but walking away from him every night with nothing but a platonic pat on the back and a friendly goodnight definitely was, and it got harder with each night he spent dancing in Colby's arms. But if everything went according to plan, they'd get their guy and he wouldn't have to go back to this setup. 

They'd noticed their suspect four days ago, in the same club they were in now. He'd watched them the entire time, staring at them dance and make out. Megan's background check had thrown up a lot of question marks and not a lot of answers - except for one: whoever the guy was, he wasn't who he appeared to be. 

Outside, Don shivered in the cool night air and used it as an excuse to huddle into Colby's side. With their arms around each other, they crossed the street and entered the parking lot. 

They'd almost reached the cover car. 

Under his arm Don could feel the tension in Colby's muscles, ready to spring into action any second. He wasn't faring any better. 

The sharp crunch of gravel was the only warning they got. One moment the suspect was following them at a distance and the next he grabbed a metal baseball bat he must have stashed between the cars and charged. 

Don and Colby separated, diving off to the side in different directions. The sliding door to the surveillance van, parked right next to the cover car, opened and Megan jumped out, gun at the ready. 

"FBI!" she yelled, taking aim.

Their suspect ducked to the side and brought his bat down hard, aiming for Don's head. Don rolled and the bat missed his head. It hit his shoulder instead and Don hissed in pain.

"Jeremy Prijca! Drop your weapon and get on the ground!"

Colby had pulled his own gun - his smaller backup piece that he kept in an ankle holster since he couldn't have concealed his regular gun in the clubbing gear - and fired a warning shot into the ground. Gravel sprayed in all directions. 

The suspect looked from Colby to Megan to several of the other agents who'd moved in to help and finally to Don who had taken the chance to sit up and put some distance between them. 

He dropped the bat. 

"On your knees." Megan holstered her gun when the suspect complied and it took next to no time to get him restrained and into the back of car. 

"Ambulance is on the way," David reported, walking up to them after he dismissed the extra team. 

"I'm fine," Don protested. 

"Then you shouldn't have a problem with the EMTs looking you over," Megan said. She checked her watch.

"All right, go home. All of you." Don held up his hand when the expected wave of protest started. "We have him red-handed for trying to assault us. Connecting him to the other cases is going to be a thing for the labs, and none of that is going to happen tonight. So go home, get some sleep and come back tomorrow to work on your reports."

Megan smiled and kissed his cheek. "I'll know if you dodge the EMTs, and I'm going to tell your dad if you do," she whispered.

Don rolled his eyes. "I'm fine - but if it makes you happy, I'll get it checked."

"Thank you." Megan left with a wave and David followed shortly after the ambulance arrived. 

Don took a seat on the back and let the EMT take a look at his shoulder. It felt a little tender and some bruising already started appearing, but the EMT confirmed that nothing was broken or permanently damaged, so Don thanked him and send them on their way.

Right now he wanted to go home, take a shower and wallow in self-pity until he no longer felt like he wanted to confess his feelings to Colby.

"Don." Colby was leaning against their cover car – a new-ish Mazda that Don would have to drop off at the car pool in the morning – with his arms crossed over his chest. "Give me a ride home?"

Don sighed inwardly – not only had he spent a torturous hour dancing with Colby, now he was also supposed to spend however long in an enclosed space with him? "Sure," he said. "I guess David left without you?"

Colby made a noncommittal noise and sank into the seat cushion. 

They drove in silence. 

Don felt hyperaware of Colby's every movement, his every breath.

"Are you okay?" Colby finally asked when Don turned into his street.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Gonna have some bruises on my shoulder, but they said it would heal right up."

Colby chuckled. "Not what I meant, Don."

Don shot him a questioning glance before pulling the car into one of the visitor spaces in front of Colby's building. 

"I'm so tired," Colby said, running a hand over his face. 

Don made a commiserating sound – he felt exhausted. 

"So you probably should chalk it up to that if you don't--" Colby broke off and Don turned to check on him. 

He found Colby looking at him, his gaze so intense that it nearly made Don blush. "Colby?" 

"Shh, it's just you and me here," Colby said, reaching out to cup one of Don's cheeks in his hand. He ran a thumb over Don'd cheek. "Can I kiss you?"

Don was speechless, but his expression must have done his talking for him because Colby leaned in and pressed a feathery soft kiss to his lips. It was nothing like any of the kisses they'd shared over the last two weeks and that made it absolutely perfect. Better yet, that made it _real_. This wasn't a kiss for show, to sell a relationship that didn't even exist. 

Don smiled.

This was a kiss that could just be the start of something.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! <3


End file.
